On October 7 Musical Bridges Around the World in San Antonio opens it’s 15th season with the concert “Fusion of the Worlds”, which will bring together musicians, performers on ethnic instruments from around the world.
“Musical Bridges” through it’s multicultural programing connects different genres, styles and artists, including many members of the Russian music traditions.
This season, Musical Bridges invites musicians Igudesman and Joo. The world’s best musical pranksters; violinist Aleksey Igudesman from St. Petersburg and British born Korean pianist Richard Hyung Joo, present the program ” A Little Nightmare Music”, a madcap take on “A Little Night Music” by Mozart. The show consists of many short scenes in which this couple of hooligans reinterpret famous musical pieces in their own unique and witty way.
Musical Generations speaks for itself. The concert includes the world famous pianist – Lilya Zilberstein and her two sons – Anton and Daniel. Their performance will include works by Mozart and Brahms.
As a participant in the San Antonio city-wide Brahms Festival, a concert featuring Mark Sheyhet (viola), Elena Portnaya (piano), Emanuel Borok (violin) and mezzo-soprano Carolyn Sproule will be held at the San Fernando Cathedral.
The grand finale of the musical season will be a performance on May 19 by the dance ensemble “Barynya” from New York.
Anna Grohovski-Michaelson, the artistic director and founder of Musical Bridges Around the World told our correspondent that the support of the Russian community plays a vital role in its organization.
“I am proud of the fact that the Russian community in San Antonio is a great help to our community. We are very grateful to Dr. Dmitry Buyanovo and Larissa Guttenberg (Premier Pain Consultants), Dr Yuri Borsch (Precision Spine & Pain Management) and Dr. Stan Zerbrowski of Northwoods Dental Spa for their continued support during our concert season.”
I am eternally grateful to those who selflessly help us produce fantastic music programming. For example Svetlana Zhilkibaeva with her son Gary help us at all of the concerts. Svetlana is the recipient of the 2012 special award “Volunteer of the Year.”
Mary Houston, her mother Svetlana, and her daughter Olga – members of Musical Bridges help us a lot with computer work.
Several of our Russian friends in Austin are subscribers to Musica Viva ($ 1000 +) and drive to our concerts many times per year.
Many members of the Russian community attend our main stage concerts at McAllister Auditorium and the free public concerts at San Fernando Cathedral.
In the Soviet Union, despite all the political, social, and other problems, music was given great importance. That’s why immigrants from the former Soviet Union know high quality music performances. I am happy my Russian compatriots enjoy our music programs. Support from the Russian community means a lot to me and I strive to continue to live up to their artistic expectations.
Charity was a phenomenon of Imperial Russia, just remember Stroganov, Diaghilev and the dynasties of Mammoth, Morozov Bakhrushins, Shchukin, Ryabushinskys, Tretyakov. Fortunately, the tradition of philanthropy that died in 1917 in Russia, is revived in the modern world. Russians in San Antonio are proud of Musical Bridges, and support us because they are interested to develop our musical program.
It is a great pleasure – to be surrounded by a wonderful community of fellow countrymen, who share my love for music. We have a Russian musical family. Thank you very much! “